A group of concerned professionals, Political Forum G50, has said that lack of good governance in Nigeria resulted from failure of the masses in telling leaders how they should be governed.
Political Forum G50 President, Ferdinand Azi, said this on Sunday in Lagos at the group’s 4th Talk Show with the theme: Elements of Good Governance in Nigeria.
The group recommended the “Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA)” module for good governance in order to measure, audit and review the performances of political leaders.
News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Azi as wondering why states are still owing salaries in spite of the saying that the release of bailout funds and Paris Club refunds released to the states.
He said with the implementation of PDCA module, funds are not released to governors, local government chairmen and other agencies without tying them to projects and developmental initiatives.
“Most importantly, continual monitoring and supervision are the panacea embedded in the PDCA module,” he said.
Ferdinand said that the group, created out of passion for quality leadership and good governance in Nigeria, was a platform to discuss critical national issues and proffer solutions.
Speaking at the forum, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), said that the over-monetised primaries recently conducted by leading political parties indicated that Nigeria was gradually moving away from democracy to plutocracy.
“Plutocracy is a system where only the rich participated in electoral process at the detriment of the poor masses who do not have the financial capacity to meet up with electoral requirements,” Agbakoba said.
Also speaking at the forum, Mr Dele Adeshina (SAN), said that good governance was a direct result of the efficacy of the judicial system in the administration of justice.
Adeshina said that good governance implied accountability, transparency, participation, openness and the rule of law.
He said the efficacy of a country’s justice system has a direct bearing on the economic fortune of that country, adding that “impunity is at the bane of our problems and when law is not effectively enforced, impunity reigns supreme and lawlessness of various degrees take over.”
A consultant surgeon, Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba, said that the National Health Insurance Scheme, established in 1999, had covered only two per cent of the country’s population till date.
“In other societies, healthcare is a principal factor for electioneering but here in Nigeria, we do not talk about it.
“Nigeria spends between $2 and $6 billion annually on foreign medical care as a result of the consequences of failure of our medical tourism,” the professor said.
NAN
